Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-08-12

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal.

To what extent do you agree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

In recent years, smoking has become a serious health issue among people and should be banned for the good of all. I agree with this statement.

Firstly, smoking has become a major problem among the youth. Now, in this current situation of showing off and wanting to look cool in front of their friend circle, youngsters are choosing wrong pathways. For instance, if a group of people is sitting together and smoking, just to become a part of that group, children also start smoking. Moreover, smoking at this young age is affecting their physical as well as mental health.

Furthermore, smoking is a serious cause of health problems; it affects the lungs and brain. People become addicted to smoking. Smoking not only affects those who smoke but it is also problematic for the person who are beside them this called passive smoking.

In my opinion, it should be illegal, and the government should take major steps to stop the production of tobacco. Authorities should start campaigns and drives to make people aware of the side effects of smoking and how it is affecting our health. However, legal bodies should also give heavy fines to the advertising companies for promoting smoking and influencing people.

In conclusion, it is not only the responsibility of the government to take action, but every individual is responsible for their health. On the pack of smoke, it is mentioned that "Smoking Kills", so they should stop smoking.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses the prompt by taking a clear position in favor of banning smoking. However, the essay falls short of the 250-word minimum requirement, which negatively impacts the development of ideas. While the arguments regarding youth influence and health risks are relevant, they are somewhat underdeveloped. The conclusion introduces a slight contradiction by suggesting individual responsibility after arguing for a total legal ban, which weakens the consistency of the position. To improve, you should expand on your supporting points with more detailed explanations or additional examples to ensure the essay meets the length requirement and provides a more comprehensive discussion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, each with a clear focus. Cohesive devices such as 'Firstly', 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'In conclusion' are used to guide the reader through the argument. However, the flow between some sentences is slightly mechanical, and the transition between the government's role and individual responsibility in the conclusion is abrupt. The referencing is generally clear, though the sentence 'this called passive smoking' lacks a relative pronoun or proper grammatical connection to the preceding clause. Overall, the structure is coherent, but the use of linking words could be more varied and sophisticated.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks the range and precision required for higher bands. You use common phrases like 'serious health issue', 'major problem', and 'wrong pathways'. While these are accurate, they are somewhat repetitive and basic. There are also minor collocation issues, such as 'give heavy fines' (better: 'impose heavy fines') and 'on the pack of smoke' (better: 'on cigarette packaging'). To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more topic-specific vocabulary related to public policy, health economics, or sociological impacts of addiction.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The essay uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'the person who are beside them' (should be 'is') and 'this called passive smoking' (should be 'which is called'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are instances where sentence boundaries are slightly awkward. While the meaning is always clear, the frequency of these minor errors prevents the essay from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of relative clauses will help improve your accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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